Social Media Advertising Budgets Rise in 2013

Wish all those ads on your Facebook page would just go away? Unfortunately, they probably won't be going away any time soon. A new study suggests that social media ads are here to stay, with advertisers reportedly spending more money on these ads in 2013 than ever before.

A recent study by Digiday shows that U.S. advertisers plan to spend $4.1 billion this year on social media advertising. And while many companies started buying up ad space on sites like Facebook and Twitter years ago, those businesses now intend to spend even more on this type of advertising.

The study found that 64 percent of advertisers plan to increase social media ad budgets this year. Meanwhile, only 2 percent of advertisers surveyed say they intend to spend less on paid social media ads in 2013 than they did in 2012.

Emarketer reports that social media advertising still lags behind other ad channels. But this might be because advertising with social media serves a unique purpose for most businesses. Forty-five percent of advertisers say they use social media ads to raise awareness about companies and influence brand opinion. However, only 16 percent report using these ads to drive product trials or site visits.

And while social media ads might not be the main outlet for advertising online, they do represent a growing trend in digital marketing. Right now, most advertisers only spend about 10 percent of their online budgets on social media ads, but Emarketer estimates that the amount spent on these ads will rise by nearly $1 billion by 2014.

Elizabeth writes about innovative technologies and business trends. She has traveled throughout the Americas in her roles as student, English teacher, Spanish language interpreter and freelance writer. She graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University. You can follow her on Twitter @techEpalermo or Google+.